The Power and Collapse of Paternalism: The Ford Motor Company and Black Workers, 1937-1941

Abstract

In this comparative historical analysis, I examine the significance of paternalism in two interracial labor organizing drives at the Ford Motor Company's River Rouge plant during the Great Depression. The first drive resulted in ongoing interracial antagonism among Ford workers and the union's failure. The second drive generated interracial labor solidarity and led to the union's recognition. One of the distinctive aspects of the setting was Henry Ford's paternalistic relations with the black community of Detroit. Drawing from Mary Jackman's (1994) research, I examine the dimensions of paternalism and how it contributes to split labor market dynamics, in particular, and power relationships, in general. This analysis suggests that a split labor market based on paternalism can only be overcome by workers when another political actor intervenes in ways that challenge the stratification (whether by design or not).